Yuri Stoval
Chelsea will miss the services of Wesley Fofana after the defender was shown a red card during their game against Burnley Fofana received his marching orders in the second half before Scott Parker’s side wrestled back to claim a point at Stamford Bridge At the same time, Chelsea has released a statement condemning the abhorrent messages Fofana received after the incident Chelsea dropped points once again from a winning position after Burnley scored a stoppage-time goal to get a draw at Stamford Bridge on Saturday evening.
Referee Lewis Smith shows Wesley Fofana a red card on Saturday, February 21. Photo by Izzy Poles.
Source: Getty Images Joao Pedro scored inside four minutes to set Chelsea on what looked like a routine win, but it wasn’t meant to be.
Liam Rosenior’s charges failed to find a decisive second goal, with Enzo Fernandez and Cole Palmer particularly wasteful in front of goal.
Why was Wesley Fofana red-carded? Their efforts were further complicated after Wesley Fofana was sent off in the 72nd minute for a second bookable offence.
The Frenchman had earlier been booked in the 34th minute before picking up his second caution in the second half as he tried to stop a Burnley counterattack.
The red card injected belief into the visitors who prodded forward looking for a goal, which eventually came through in the third minute of stoppage time through Zian Flemming.
It is now the second consecutive game that the Blues have dropped points at home despite looking comfortable for most parts of the game.
Fofana was quite lucky that he was sent off for two bookable offences rather than a straight red card. His second challenge on James Ward-Prowse could easily have been a direct red card in itself.
As a result, the former Leicester City defender will only miss one game for Chelsea. The next game for the Blues is as big as it gets as they travel across town to face league leaders Arsenal.
Speaking after the game, Rosenior refused to blame Fofana for the dropped points.
“No, that wasn’t on Wesley. That was our performance. From the first goal, we lacked incision when we had control. I want incision. I want us to create wave after wave of attack. We were too safe in our possession. From being in winning positions and being in control of the game to not winning the two games, that’s the biggest frustration. It’s not a blame on an individual,” he said via the club’s website. Chelsea defender Wesley Fofana. Photo credit: Chelsea.
Source: Twitter Chelsea release statement on Wesley Fofana Meanwhile, the club has been forced to release a statement condemning the vile racial abuse that the defender faced after the game.
Fofana shared screenshots of the messages he received in the wake of his red card.
“Such behaviour is completely unacceptable and runs counter to the values of the game and everything we stand for as a club. There is no room for racism.” Players who will miss Tottenham vs Arsenal In another report, 13 players will miss Tottenham’s game against Arsenal on February 22.
The two will clash at the former’s homeground with different objectives at stake.
Arsenal are now feeling the pressure from Manchester City, while Tottenham have to pull away from the relegation zone.
Source: TUKO.co.ke
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